THIXOTROPY: THE EFFECT OF STRETCH SIZE IN RELAXED FROG MUSCLE

Abstract
Small forces were applied to isolated frog muscle; the resulting displacements were used to calculate muscle stiffness (elastic modulus, E). Stiffness is much greater for small forces within the range of the Short Range Elastic Component (SREC; Hill, 1968). ''Stirring'' the muscle greatly reduces the stiffness, but only when the applied force is small. Stiffness subsequently returns to its original level. This strongly suggests that muscle thixotropy (Lakie, Walsh and Wright, 1984) is a property of the SREC.

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